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“Reclaiming” a slang word means taking back a word that was once used as an insult or stereotype and using it proudly or humorously by the very group it targeted.

It’s a form of empowerment, flipping the meaning to weaken its sting.

Here are some clear examples :-

1. “Queer” — Once a slur against LGBTQ+ people, now widely reclaimed as an inclusive identity term (e.g., “I’m queer and proud.”).


2. “Nerd” / “Geek” — Used to mock people interested in academics or tech; now reclaimed as cool (“I’m a coding nerd.”).


3. “Bitch” — Sometimes reclaimed by women as a badge of assertiveness (“I’m that bitch — confident and in control.”).


4. “Slut” — Reclaimed by the SlutWalk movement to challenge sexual double standards (“Being a slut isn’t shameful.”).


5. “Black” — Once avoided due to racism; now embraced with pride in cultural identity (“Black is beautiful.”).


6. “Fat” — Reclaimed in body positivity movements to neutralize body shaming (“I’m fat and fabulous.”).


In the Indian context, reclaiming slang and slurs has become a powerful cultural and political act, especially on social media, music, and street art. Here are a few strong examples :

1. “Chamar” / “Dalit”

Original : Used as casteist slurs against people from oppressed castes.

Reclaimed : Dalit and Bahujan activists now use “Proud to be Dalit” or “Chamar pop” (e.g., artist Ginni Mahi) as statements of pride and defiance.

→ “Yes, I’m Chamar — and I’m not ashamed of it.”

2. “Bhai” / “Tapori” / “Gully”

Original : Terms used mockingly for Mumbai’s street culture or lower-class men.

Reclaimed : The hip-hop scene turned them into identity markers — “Gully Boy”, “Apna Time Aayega”, etc.

→ Street-smart, confident, and authentic, not “uncultured.”

3. “Item”

Original : Used to objectify women in songs or films (“item number”).

Reclaimed : Some women use it ironically — “Main item hoon, aur main apni marzi se hoon” — to reclaim control over their sexuality and image.

4. “Hijra” / “Kothi” / “Queer”

Original : Mocking or derogatory terms for transgender and gender-nonconforming people.

Reclaimed : The LGBTQIA+ community in India proudly uses them — “Hijra hain hum, aur humara bhi garv hai.”

5. “Padhaku” / “Bookworm”

Original : Used teasingly for someone overly studious.

Reclaimed : Students now use it humorously — “Padhaku and proud.” It’s a way of saying, “Yes, I’m into learning — so what ?”

6. “Gaonwala” / “Desi”

Original : Urban elites used these words to mock rural people as unsophisticated.

Reclaimed : Youth proudly use “Desi swag” or “Gaon se hoon, par kam nahi” to highlight authenticity and roots.

7. “Mad” / “Pagal”

Original : Used to dismiss or insult eccentric people, especially women.

Reclaimed : Artists and creators now use “Pagal aur proud”, implying freedom from social conformity.

Some more examples :

In 2013, Alok Nath reclaimed the word "Sanskari Babuji"

In the past decade, an actor reclaimed the words "chowkidar" and "chaiwala".


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Prateek Rational Author

Scientist | Rational Thinker | Vegetarian by Choice | Atheist by Reason | Chess & Music Enthusiast | Debunking Pseudoscience with Evidence
The words such as "Atheist" and "Nastik" also have been reclaimed..!!
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Prateek Rational Author

Scientist | Rational Thinker | Vegetarian by Choice | Atheist by Reason | Chess & Music Enthusiast | Debunking Pseudoscience with Evidence
(edited)
About Awkward Goat : I have criticised her in past for her actions of giving fake copyright strikes to swetabh and her men-hating remarks

But this one has nothing to do with all of that, she really deserves praise for this one, reclaiming this isn't easy even for a highly privileged one, even a big celebrity won't dare to reclaim this word, but she did..!!

This has nothing to do with Psychology and her profession. It's about social issues

So, stop connecting this with her other attributes, focus on ideas, not people. People have flaws.
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Kavita F. • 2nd

|| CA Final | Industrial Trainee | VIEWS ARE PERSONAL | Financial Reporting | Risk Advisory | Ex-Mazars | 1M+ Impressions | Semi-classical Dance | National level Yoga | BCom||
Prateek Rational People nowadays are not bothered to give anything a thought.... They'll instantly criticise you without introspecting the topic in their head, and you can't make them understand when they themself are not ready to think about it....

Introspection and common sense in a conversation is rare with most of the people in India...
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Prateek Rational Author

Scientist | Rational Thinker | Vegetarian by Choice | Atheist by Reason | Chess & Music Enthusiast | Debunking Pseudoscience with Evidence
(edited)
This is my one of those rare posts where comments are more than likes, Personally I like these posts more than those ones which have a lot of likes but very few comments as I like to have debates and discussions, there is a lot to learn and improve ourselves from this. We got a lot of new perspectives from reading comments.
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Yash Pratap • You

Web Dev, System Design, AI
(edited)
If you see the linguistic and historical evolution of the word "Randi," it is associated with "widow." It starts from the male widower "Randa," then it becomes a slur because of the bad luck associated with it. That's why Sati became easier. They were dehumanized by Hindus for a long time, British took this to the next level by converting the word "Randi" into "prostitute" formally. (Hindu's use this meaning informally so British didn't invent that, they formalize)

We don't need to reclaim the word, but we need to read "why" and it will debunk all orthodox religion real quick.

Our real history is often found in our slurs.

On reclaim, religion defines what is sacred and what is impure.

Randi = Not possible to reclaim because "institutions of marriage" is built on the foundation of fear of "Sex Slavery" and marriage is necessity for survival of a woman in rural India. Can't be reclaimed until marriage becomes a choice for all women.
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Yash Pratap • You

Web Dev, System Design, AI
(edited)
On reclaim, religion defines what is sacred and what is impure.

Randi = Not possible to reclaim because "institutions of marriage" is built on the foundation of fear of "Sex Slavery" and marriage is necessity for survival of a woman in rural India.

Chamar : Not possible to reclaim till Cow is mother or sacred animal.

Hijra : Not possible to reclaim without normalisation of "anti natalism".

Orthodox Hindu dehumanisation is based on "Sacredness in Karma" it also justify crime against children like rape of children or cancer in children, gender and caste violence and many more.

What Krishna says:

You can't do the right work without development of "ability to see without attachment".

What manusmriti says:

Brahmin have ability to see by birth so whatever they do will be sacred.

Even in chapter 1 of Geeta Krishna is telling Arjun to leave all karam kaand and crap so it's not Geeta's fault, it's the fault of Upper caste Hindu who use this to justify the unjustifiable because their God is Lord Manu not Krishna.

Orthodox Religion is always a slave of politics so you can't solve a problem of dehumanisation with scriptures, you need political force.
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Yash Pratap • You

Web Dev, System Design, AI
Victorian Morality based on Protestant Christianity is heavily focused on Two Gender Male and Female. Before Protestant Christianity men and women were never equals, they bring the concept of modern love based on romanticism One Man One Woman and 3rd Gender or LGBTQ is very much against of the ideal nuclear family life. That's why Hijra become a slur in British era, it wasn't slur in Hindu or Islamic era.
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Yash Pratap • You

Web Dev, System Design, AI
Caste pride is caste violence. From a psychological perspective, the word "Chamaar" is linked to "chamda" or "leather," and from a historical perspective, it's the "leather of the cow" but in practical reality it included other animals also. The cow is considered a sacred animal, and people are vegetarian in the Ganges belt of Hindi, so it came from there. No one is traumatised by the equivalent word in the world except North Indians as they believe the cow is a mother (while continuing cow's exploitation, I hope you are aware of the dairy industry). If Indian universities were interested in Indians, they would have told these basic things.
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Vik Gambhir • 1st

Want a killer resume? DM me | I help people land jobs locally and overseas by writing stellar Resumes, LinkedIn Profiles and Cover Letters.
How do I get back 2 mins of my life that I spent reading this? Why are we wasting time sharing content about people whose sole aim is to cash in on random things and make SEO work
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Yash Pratap • You

Web Dev, System Design, AI
Khyati Singh Narendra Modi himself spreading Islamophobia ki "bhais khol kr le jaayenge" fir to PM ko bhi nhi dekho, news hi nhi dekho .. Trump alien bol rha Indians ko .. mat dekho news fir .. aisa koi rocket nhi bna rha koi yha na hi koi theory of relativity ki equation solve kr rha .. repeatable work kr rhi duniya mostly like a slave aur agar nhi bologe kuch to cockroach k tarah masal diye jaoge .. fir roo lena ..
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Prateek Rational Author

Scientist | Rational Thinker | Vegetarian by Choice | Atheist by Reason | Chess & Music Enthusiast | Debunking Pseudoscience with Evidence
(edited)
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Yash Pratap • You

Web Dev, System Design, AI
Khyati Singh aati hai gobar content but wo thoda better tarah se package hota hai to gobar directly dikhai nhi deta

Job chahiye to "interested likho"

Maine x salary maangi HR ne 2x de di

Gobar wo bhi hai but uss Gobar ko khaane ki aadat ho gayi hai bs ..

Wo socially acceptable gobar hai aur ye socially unacceptable. 😂
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Khushboo Tyagi • 2nd

Sharma ji's β recommends her copy
Reclaiming a word that's often used as an insult against women on behalf of all women, no matter their class or privilege, is not an admirable take on the situation. Underprivileged women who live in vulnerable conditions are under constant threat of being dehumanized and disrespected. These slurs reek of misogyny, and instead of targeting the bias at the core, downplaying its role is not a good idea. Because that's not fair to women who deal with this kind of misbehaviour on a day-to-day basis. We can't reclaim a word that never worked in our favour. Also, we can't speak for women who have had entirely different experiences and lives from ours.
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Aditya Humane • 2nd

I'm a Blogger & Ex-Podcaster | A Politics freak | talkative Over-thinker Law student who brings passion for politics, legal affairs, books📚 and movies🍿
As far as casteist words are concerned reclaiming it is not a good thing, I tell you why because this way everyone will take pride in their caste and the very thing that we want to end will always be there. We need to Annihilate the caste as Ambedkar wanted.
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Kavita F. • 2nd

|| CA Final | Industrial Trainee | VIEWS ARE PERSONAL | Financial Reporting | Risk Advisory | Ex-Mazars | 1M+ Impressions | Semi-classical Dance | National level Yoga | BCom||
(edited)
When misogynists on social media don't have any counter argument, they use this word without any context to demean a woman, about whom they don't even know anything about... So this word is commonly used to degrade, demotivate a woman who has a voice, who is empowered.....

So tell me, why would a woman bother with the words they don't resonate with.... Tomorrow if someone calls me prime minister, I'll not take it personally because I know I am not... But this word is such a taboo that even if someone calls us by that, we are bothered... The women's confidence goes down instantly and they are forced to shut up, otherwise they are characterless... So the girl in the video tried to normalise that thing, because the misogynist will keep trying hard to look down on you, we have to understand that that's not who we are... It doesn't matter if anyone calls us anything, we know who we are, what we are doing, and that's enough...
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Farook Ahmed Shakir • 2nd

Consultant for ERM, BCM, AM, CM, ESG, and M&A
This is one cunning way of telling downtrodden people to accept their condition with pride. Try calling any lady 'Ra-dy'
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Prateek Rational Author

Scientist | Rational Thinker | Vegetarian by Choice | Atheist by Reason | Chess & Music Enthusiast | Debunking Pseudoscience with Evidence
Farook Ahmed Shakir Reclaiming is different from accepting. Reclaiming is like stop being a victim.

You can't silence everyone with force. Also, there is freedom of speech.

The best you can do is stop getting affected by what everyone says. That will demotivate bullying behaviour, as their methods of saying slang are not affecting the victim anymore, they are no longer the victim.
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Nekait Arora • 2nd

Business Strategist with 14+ years in Sales & Business Setup. Web & Mobile app development | #Industry4 #Web3 | Digital Transformation | #AI Artificial Intelligence | #Metaverse #Blockchain | #AR #VR | Interviewed by BBC
(edited)
What, on earth, did I just read!

Just for a few likes, some random Indian lady is ready to be called "R*ndi" in Hindi? Prateek
Comment image, no alternative text available
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Prateek Rational Author

Scientist | Rational Thinker | Vegetarian by Choice | Atheist by Reason | Chess & Music Enthusiast | Debunking Pseudoscience with Evidence
Nekait Arora It's her choice. Who are we to impose our sense of morality on her ? Is calling herself randi a crime ? If not, then why some people are filing complaint against her under POCSO ? Is her crime is equivalent to what was done by Asaraam ?

When we see nothing wrong in people posting fake personal stories just for few likes , Then why such a huge outrage on this..!!
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Sachin K. • 2nd

Helping 482 Jobs in Australia | SID Visa Sponsorship | Health Teach Tech | Unlocking 482 Visa Dreams | Talent Acquisition Expert | Visas 482 | 500 |189 | 190 | 491 | 186 | 407 | 494 🚫 Not intended as legal advice 🚫
Interesting take on reclaiming words, flips the script on how language evolves with culture.
The Indian examples, like "Gully" in hip-hop, show how street vibes turn into strength. What's a word you've seen shift meaning in your world? Prateek Rational
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Saurabh Parmar • 2nd

Fractional CMO 🧠 (17+ yrs) : Brand, Digital,Growth & AI ➕ Ex-founder-2 Startups 🚀 ➕ Taught @ IIMC, ISB etc + Corporates & Govt bodies -Focus on AI, GTM ,Marketing & Crisis Comm Workshops 🎯
Aloknath reclaimed sankari and was also accused of molestation.

Check her reputation among feminists ,therapists ,reddit etc...to stand for something you need credibility.
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Uday Parmar • 2nd

Accidental Entrepreneur → Lilypad {EV Marketplace & Fleet} | Fractional Sales Leader | ex-EY Director, ex-KPMG Consultant
Look her up on Reddit, and you’ll see why ANY point made and propped with her … will hold less weight than it would have done in isolation. Annoying to the core, a therapist who I would reccomend some form of therapy to. Ok, maybe that last point was a bit much. Or not 🤔
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faizan Khan • 2nd

Half CA || Article assistant - SCK|| TIC’24 || Audit Enthusiast || Books X Music || KPI : Sarcastic/Sinister/Weird Comment
Waiting for delhi Bois jo apne bio m likhe "proud bc/mc"
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Sameep Tripathi • 2nd

Founder Carrus Mobility| Entrepreneur| Cold Chain Logistics| Deep Tech| "I make Perishable Farming/Production and Logistics Robust, Climate Resilient and Smart for a Better Tomorrow"|
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Tanay Dwivedi • 2nd

Freelance Data Analyst | Power BI specialist | Data Visualization expert | SQL | Python | Excel | Also exploring several technical and non-technical stuffs beyond Data.
(edited)
"Chamar" was never a slur or a gaali. It just used to refer to people who had occupation in leather tanning and other related industries. It's just in later period or what one would say in Modern India people started associating it with slur and used it as an excuse to discriminate and belittle people who had a history of their ancestors and their subsequent generations to be associated with these industries which was wrong at every level.
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Debaditya B. • 3rd+

Assistant Professor, English language, linguistics and soft skills
The aforementioned word is a profession and not merely a racial or casteist slur - reclaiming the respect for such a word would require a tectonic shift in the mindset of collectivistic, conservative Indians, who can still listen to "chamar pop" and cheer for gully boy, however would find it difficult to share a table or even walk through a neighbourhood of sex-workers... in a county of 1.4billion, its about time we let go of this purist crap, but that just can't be - so you can use this word all you can if youre in New York or London, belonging to the top 1%, but try using it being a part of a common middle class indian family... as a linguist, while I agree with this, I know it cannot work in this country
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Anshul Pangti • 2nd

Counseling Psychologist
Thank you for this post. Your ideas make me feel safe enough to share mine.

For me experience will always come before theory as experience is historicallly not given importance, people respond from experiences not theories, they come from their contexts not from books. Also mostly privileged people or people who have superior thinking syndrome mostly make theories and then use it to tell what's wrong and what's not.

This moralizing behaviour is deeply colonized way of thinking of telling what's right and what's wrong, and censoring anyone who doesn't make sense or sounds irrational to them.

Also one cannot bully one marginalized community to help the other. Both have to go together hand in hand. One cannot shut a women by saying that she is not being intersectionally aware, because we are again putting down a women in the end who is and has been facing the brunt of patriarchy.

It's not a fight about who has got it worsebor better, it's about noticing what are the larger forces that make us go say what things are acceptable or unacceptable? And asking difficult questions like why someone would choose identity or freedom from our own mentality over safety before judging them or calling them insane?
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